California governor protects warrantless cellphone searches

A court ruling in California allowed police to search cellphones in certain instances without a warrant. Gov. Jerry Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that sought to reverse that court ruling.

In January, the state Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officers, without a warrant, can search the contents of a cellphone confiscated from anyone under arrest.

The majority of justices said arrestees lose their right of privacy for anything they are carrying when taken into custody.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Shortly after the decision was handed down, state lawmakers went to work in Sacramento to counter it. The Legislature sent Gov. Brown a bill to clarify that officers must first obtain a search warrant when there is probable cause to believe a suspect’s phone contains evidence of a crime.

Supporters said the privacy safeguards are critical as technology advances and cellphones become much more than simple devices to make phone calls.